Dolly Sullivan, of Wayside, owner of Garson Catering at Christian Brothers Academy, is on her 51st year with the school. / STAFF PHOTO: MARY FRANK

Written by

ALEX VIVIAN

When construction began on Christian Brothers Academy in the late 1950s, the men certainly worked up an appetite.

Dolly Gartland (her last name is now Sullivan) noticed this, and came to the site with her cafe truck. When the school opened in 1959, she was invited to work as manager of the cafeteria. She gladly accepted, and has been serving students in that role for the past 51 years.

To all who attend CBA, Sullivan serves as a loving, hardworking and generous soul who loves the school almost as much as she loves its students and faculty.

Just ask Brother Frank Byrnes, CBA's president and an alumnus of the school. He says that from his experiences there in the '70s to his executive position now, Sullivan has not changed her compassionate, yet professional demeanor in the cafeteria.

"She's a caring woman first, and a businesswoman second," he says. If a young man cannot afford to buy lunch, Byrnes says, she allows him to help out in exchange for food. If a student does not have enough in his pocket for food on a given day, her policy is one of eat then, pay later.

A grandmother of 15 and a great-grandmother of 28, Sullivan understands kids of all ages, especially those in high school. Sullivan serves as a primary example of Christian values.

Twice widowed, and having lost a son to a collapsed lung, she still strives forward every day to bring her happiness, love and positivity to all she comes in contact with. Any employee of the CBA cafeteria can testify to this.

Sullivan's co-worker and niece, Donna Susino, says "I love coming to work every day. I love the students, the faculty and especially my aunt, Dolly."

In addition to managing the CBA cafeteria, she has also been the general manager of Driftwood Beach Club and Ocean County Beach Club, while at the same time fulfilling her duties as a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and worker.

Students and faculty believe that Sullivan, now 80, has served as the backbone for CBA. And the school community hopes they will be waiting in her lunch line for years to come.